2020 Dyxum Postcard Exchange

OK, let's go! Here is the final list.

I did my best to maximize the geographical spread. I bucketed folks into US (6 people), UK (7 people) and "rest of world" (ROW, 6 people) buckets. Next, I randomized each bucket and then picked from US, UK, ROW to make the final list.

The idea is to send cards to 5 people below you on the list (wrapping the list if you are close to the bottom). For example: #6 will be sending postcards to #7, #8, #9, #10 and #11.
At the end of the list, we will just roll forward to #1.
So #16 will send a card to #17, #18, #19, #1 and #2.

To make this happen each person should PM his postal address to 5 people above themself on the list. For example #3 should PM his postal address to #2, #1, #18, #17 and #16. Don't post your address here!!

And if you plan to print more than 5 cards then just announce in the thread that you have freebies to take - I'm pretty sure somebody will volunteer to get one of those via a PM with their address.

When PMing your postal address please mind its formatting - put it in exactly same format as expected by your post office: different countries use different formatting and it can be painful to make sure that all is done correctly.

BTW, the unspoken agreement is that postal addresses exchanged by PMs will be used solely for the purpose of Dyxum Postards Exchange. Please mind privacy of fellow Dyxumers!

1. alpha_in_exile
2. IanC
3. Jumbolino67
4. ADub128
5. Tricky01
6. Fred_S
7. aplmike
8. AsD
9. gregja
10. Roger Rex
11. Maccroft
12. pegelli
13. pakodominguez
14. Howard_S
15. KoBra64
16. saxbike
17. bonneville
18. Hezu
19. nandbytes

Have fun all!!

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Let’s get the 2020 Dyxum Postcard Exchange process underway! For those of you who weren't involved last time, the details for registration can be found below.

SUBSCRIPTION IS OPEN UNTIL 15 SEPTEMBER 2020

INTRODUCTION
The 2020 Dyxum Postcard Exchange is open to all members of the Dyxum community.

The intent of the exchange is to share prints of our own photographs with other like minded Minolta/Sony camera users (and other hangers on!), whether Digital or Film, via sending them as postcards.

THE PROCESS
The exchange will be structured as follows:
   
Registration - This will be a set period as announced in this initial call to exchange thread.

Each member who wishes to participate in the exchange must register during the sign on period. Please do this by replying in this thread only - do not send any postal address details to anyone yet - we will ask for this later.

FOR THIS TO BE A SUCCESS, YOU MUST BE COMMITTED TO SEND CARDS TO ALL YOUR DESIGNATED RECIPIENTS

You should show your intent to be involved in the call to exchange in this thread, but please DO NOT POST YOUR ADDRESS DETAILS ON THE PUBLIC FORUM!!!

Like last year there won’t be a draw for practical reasons. Once we have closed the subscription, we will create a list where we will try to create maximal geographical spread and travel distances for the cards.

The idea is to send cards to 5 people below you on the FINAL LIST (to be published after the submission closing date!). For example: #6 will be sending postcards to #7, #8, #9, #10 and #11. To make this happen each person should PM his postal address to 5 people above himself on the list. For example #3 should PM his postal address to #2, #1, #20, #19 and #18.

Print and Post - The second to last and most important step is up to you guys. It's time to get a printing and sending them out!

How you print them and how you do your postcards is totally up to you. Keep in mind that some postal systems may have maximum sizes for postcards, so as a rough guide, printing standard 4 inch by 6 inch cards would be a good standard. You can print using home printers, but it may work out better in the long run to print using a mini-lab service (& probably cheaper).

The postcard backs, again it's totally up to you. You will find that quite a few places will sell self-adhesive backs, which may make the process just that little bit easier.

Once you are done, address the cards (please get them right!), put the right postage stamp on for the destination and send them on their way!

Receiving cards - Hopefully, over the following weeks you should start to receive postcards to your letter box. Enjoy the cards, marvel at others photography and be inspired!

Once the registrations are done and the print, post and receive process is well underway, a new thread will be started (or we'll use this one) that can be used for feedback and other general discussion. It’s a good idea to post that you have received a card, so we know that they are hitting the mark. It’s also a good idea to maybe make a comment or two about the cards that you receive.

With any luck, the whole process should be done and dusted over a two or three month period (approximately one month for registrations, two months for printing, sending and receiving).

RULES
Now, without getting too wordy, I think there are a few common sense rules. Briefly:

Be Committed - For this to be a success, the members who participate should be committed to seeing the process through. If you say you are going to send cards, please ensure that you do send cards!

Image guidelines - As this is done under the banner of Dyxum, please ensure that the images you send conform to Dyxum guidelines. (i.e., no racist, sexist, violent, pictures depicting cruelty, drug use, sex or nudity)

Text guidelines - A short description of the postcards' subject is useful for the recipient!

SOME GENERAL GUIDELINES
Theme - The theme is open subject, but it might be a good idea to show something local to where you live. Maybe show an image that was taken, say, within 100miles/160km of your home? This is not a strict rule, but try and keep it close to home. Not that we don't want to see your vacation photos, but the point of the exchange is to make unique postcards from your locale.

Personalize your cards - Once you get the list of recipients, maybe it would be a good opportunity to do some research on the members on your list? Maybe you could personalize the message or the image on the card? Maybe you might be able to send them something that they may not normally look at and see? When receiving cards, look at what has been sent to you with an open mind.

Don't be tempted to stick your card between two pieces of cardboard and put them in an envelope. Half the fun of sending and receiving postcards is how they end up at the other end. Sure, they might be a bit bent, but that adds to the character of a postcard.

Once all your postcards have been received (or if you get no notification, towards the end of the exchange period), maybe show what you had sent?

Try not to be lazy! Make each postcard a different image (if you can).
Don't forget, this is a Film Friendly activity as well!
If anyone wants to make suggestions to these rules or guidelines, just make a post.

Lots of participants from lots of different countries make these exchanges fun, so sign up now !!

FINAL LIST
1. alpha_in_exile
2. IanC
3. Jumbolino67
4. ADub128
5. Tricky01
6. Fred_S
7. aplmike
8. AsD
9. gregja
10. Roger Rex
11. Maccroft
12. pegelli
13. pakodominguez
14. Howard_S
15. KoBra64
16. saxbike
17. bonneville
18. Hezu
19. nandbytes


Edited by ADub128 - 16 September 2020 at 17:26

+1

@gregja, @Howard_S, @pegelli ... you are welcome!

Like you @pegelli, I think I have participated in most of these and have all of the DPE cards I have received over the years. Yes, a pretty big stack! I'll have to check when the first DPE was held ... I think it was 2010. I will update the rules to make sure folks write the date on the postcards! The local postmarks are so hard to read.

With luck we get 18+ participants. I should try to get my son to play ... he actually took a black and white film photography class in his senior year of high school (transitioned to digital during these COVID times), shooting my old Dynax 505si Super. We'll see if he's interested, and if he has time ... transitioning to college this Fall.

Spread the word. Let's get a few more sign-ups. Worst case, we'll just send postcards to the full list

@bonneville ... agreed, when I posted the new announcement, I wondered why the last DPE (and probably older ones) were here in Open Talk. I just stuck with the inertia.

Yeah, let me search around for the old DPE threads, collect them all in one spot. And yes, this has been my favorite challenge over the years. I should get back to the old challenges I used to do though too -- Week 50mm, Octoberfest. I used to visit Dyxum all of the time when the world was transitioning from film to digital, less so now that the camera world is so much more stable. Postcards get me back to the basics of why I enjoy photography.

So, in the meantime, let's keep bumping this thread, get more signups!

Thanks for organising this year's event Art!
It's a great challenge indeed, especially now to overcome social distancing! So, anyone feeling lonely? Sign up now!

ADub128 wrote: @Fred_S -- after all of your heavy lifting last year, I thought I'd do my share this time around.

Much appreciated! Although the effort was not too bad and fun to do.

Micholand wrote: Ever opened and checked our "Challenges Index" You find a permanent link to the index on the upper left side of the forum page, scroll down to the bottom Also made this thread sticky now.

Aaaaaah!

Thank you